The Key To A Happy World
Jesus' response was based on at least three factors: his Father's view of expressions of human self-determination, which include human rule; Jesus' awareness that there are powerful, hidden forces working against even the best human efforts at rulership; and God's purpose to establish a heavenly government to rule over the entire earth. As we examine these three points more closely, we will see why mankind's efforts to make the world a better place have failed. We will also see how success will be achieved.

Can Humans Govern Themselves?
When God created humans, he gave them authority over the animal kingdom. (Genesis 1:26) But humankind was under God's sovereignty. The first man and woman were to confirm their submission to God by obediently abstaining from the fruit of one particular tree, " the tree of the knowledge of good and bad." (Genesis 2:17) Sadly, Adam and Eve abused their free moral agency and disobeyed God. Taking the forbidden fruit was not simply an act of theft. It constituted rebellion against God's sovereignty. A footnote to Genesis 2:17 in the New Jerusalem Bible states that Adam and Eve laid claim " to complete moral independance by which man refuses to recognize his status as a created being....The first sin was attack on God's sovereignty."
Becauses of the serious moral issues involved, God allowed Adam and Eve and their descendants to choose their own way of life, and they established their own standards of right and wrong. (Psalm 147:19, 20; Romans 2:14) In essence, the human experiment with self-determination then began. Has it been successful? With the advantage of thousands of years of hindsight, we can say no! Ecclesiastes 8:9 states: " Man has dominated man to his injury." This lamentable record of human self-rule confirms the truthfulness of Jeremiah 10:23: " I well know, O Jehovah, that to earthling man his way does not belong. It does not belong to man who is walking even to direct his step." History has proved that human do not have the capacity to rule successfully without their Creator.
Jesus fully concurred. Independance from God was anathema to him. "I do nothing of my own initiative," he said. "I always to the things pleasing to [God]." (John 4:34; 8:28, 29) Hence, with no divine authorization to receive kingship from humans, Jesus did not even consider accepting it.. This does not mean, however, that he was reluctant to help his fellowman. On the contrary, he did all in his power to assist people to find the greatest happiness then and in the future. He even gave his life for mankind. (Matthew 5:3-11; 7:24-27;John 3:16)
But Jesus knew that "for everything there is an appointed time," including God's time to assert his sovereignty over mankind. (Ecclesiastes 3:1; Matthew 24:14, 21,22, 36-39)Recall, though that in Eden our original parents submitted to the will of a wicked spirit creature who spoke through a visible serpent. This brings us to a second reason why Jesus kept out of politics.

Next time: The World's Secret Ruler